Practicing mindfully, Zen and Suzuki

I am a Suzuki teacher who has lived in different places throughout my life and as a result I've learned that moving faces you with professional difficulties that take time to subside. Every time you change places you start from zero, new families, new Twinklers, new youth orchestras, different systems (rhythm counting, solfege, letter names, etc) new lyrics for all Book 1 rep, you have to find a new place for your group classes, a new pianist to accompany your students, you have to connect with the local music community to find out where luthiers and music stores are, not to mention you have to deal with different Suzuki world regions who may or may not recognize your training, etc. 

However, if there is one thing I've enjoyed about restarting every time it is the opportunity to rethink the way I've done things in the past and how to move forward. Looking back each move has had a theme which had to do with not only the new place I moved to but also with where I was developmentally as a person and teacher at that time in my life. This last move of ours was pretty challenging. We had taken two teens away from their comfort zones and we were not as resilient as other times. It took a good while to get everyone settled into our new realities (house, school, work, after-school classes, doctors, etc) and right as we were beginning to feel like no such outsiders, Covid hit and everything got totally turned upside down. I had to learn to go with the flow like never before in my life and, in an attempt to maintain my sanity, I started to practice meditation and to research the subject of mindful living. Surprisingly, about eight months after I started this new spiritual path the International Suzuki Association publicly shared the old “Talent Education Journals” that Dr. Suzuki himself had been in charge of producing from 1979 to 1985. I was so excited to read what this fascinating collection of articles would have, and to my surprise the first six of those journals have articles on Zen Buddhism. Each of these articles ends the first 6 journals, and in order of appearance, from Journal 1 through 6, they are:

“Zen and Human Education” by Osamu Yoshida

“Zen and Self-Realization Part I” by Osamu Yoshida

“Zen and Self-Realization Part II” by Osamu Yoshida

“Zen and the Arts” by Osamu Yoshida

“Zen and Daily Life” by Osamu Yoshida

And “Everyone is Equal, Use and Grow” by Ichiro Tsuneoka

(Here the link to the International Suzuki Association webpage where you can read them)

Why would Dr. Suzuki choose to have such a presence of Zen Buddhism in his early journals? We do know that he was a very mindful human being, very present and whole, he embraced change, he practiced Japanese calligraphy, made children memorize haikus, and spoke of noble hearts and love (which I now know are all  Buddhist characteristics) But, why haven’t we heard much of the word "Zen" or "Buddhism" during Suzuki training courses, conferences, or summer institutes? or why didn't the following journals after 1980 continue to talk about Zen? I am not sure, but obviously Buddhism was not foreign to Dr. Suzuki and he wanted to acknowledge some aspects of it by bringing up in the above mentioned articles our Buddha-nature, the Dhamma teachings, self awareness, human suffering, attachment to concepts, sentient beings, and emptying the mind.

I will continue to explore this subject because I’d like to understand more profoundly what Dr. Suzuki was trying to tell us. Perhaps between his advocacy for the greatest economy of expression (very Zen-like) and the many cultural differences and language barriers that he himself had to face, as well as the cultural and language barriers Western violinists must have had to bridge when they arrived to Japan to study with him, something got lost in translation. But for sure, and just like he always told us “Man is a product of his environment” and he was too a product of his. Buddhism and Shinto are still today the official religions of Japan and one of Suzuki’s maternal uncles, Fuzan Asamo, was a Zen master with whom Dr. Suzuki apparently spent several years of his youth.

I hope my words will inspire you to consider the importance of this topic in our field of study or at least inspire you to view Suzuki philosophy as a more mindful lifestyle that takes into account the harmony and interconnectedness between body and mind, self and others, parent and child, and ultimately our emotional well being. Practice with compassion and soft heart, especially if you are a Suzuki parent or teacher so we can model that for our children. This is a skilful way of living that respects our existence as is, without comparisons or rushes, without short cuts or illusions. Let us practice focusing on one thing at a time, one breath at a time, let us practice slowly and with awareness, with patience and joy, because I think this is how we truly nurture noble hearts.

© 2021 Cecilia Calvelo

Mindfulness and the art of practicing

Lately we hear a lot about mindful living, mindfulness classes, mindful breathing, mindful parenting, etc. Evidently this movement has gotten a lot of attention, not only because mindfulness is a tool for alleviating stress and anxiety, but also because mindfulness can be an attitude in everyday life, at the workplace, and of course in education. What is then "mindfulness" and how does it apply to our music world?

Mindfulness is a state of mind in which one maintains moment to moment awareness of one’s thoughts, feelings, bodily sensations, and surroundings through a gentle and nurturing presence, without commentary or judgement. It’s the key to being here and now without projecting into the future or dwelling into what we did or said in the past. Without it we cannot see the world clearly, and we simply stay lost in the wanderings of our minds. Many of us live in that world of “wandering” and as illusory as it might be, we make it our reality. To maintain mindfulness we need to pay attention to what’s happening now, with an attitude that is not judgemental, but curious and kind. 

Bringing awareness to the self or becoming conscious of the here and now is a practice that’s common in the East by Buddhists and Hindus alike from ancient times. In contrast, and in broad terms, in the West we are too busy going places, networking, planning our endeavours and setting future goals. We value individual success and achievement over traditions or social responsibility. Likewise we do not spend enough time contemplating and so miss the value of being at ease with the moment, without any distractions, and by ourselves.

This last year meditation and mindfulness have changed my perspective on life and helped me cope with the uncertainty, anxiety and stress that the Covid-19 pandemic brought inside our home. I started by listening to different podcasts on yoga, then mindfulness, then I moved to following a number of meditation teachers and after one year of reading, meditating and doing a lot of conscious breathing, I think I am beginning to understand why “mindfulness” is so important to make some truce with our troubles and to create a genuine sense of inner peace. And all this time I’ve confirmed something I’ve always suspected, that musicians can have an easier time grasping what all this means because music practice requires mindfulness and in essence it’s similar to meditation!

Let me explain, in order to practice our instrument we go in some sort of a practice room alone, we stay there for a length of time regardless of the feelings that arise, and we bear with our frustrations. Moreover, as we play we know how we are feeling because it is easier to be aware of our bodies and emotions while playing our instrument than when talking on the phone, answering an email or making dinner. We musicians have this capacity for high concentration and attention to the smallest details, but we need to stay away from the “get it done” mentality or the over identification with the thoughts that go on in our minds during the practice. In fact we need to stay at the physical level for a while until the mind gives in to what's happening at each second, with every breath, and every bow stroke. This kind of mindful practice is like an intimate check-in with yourself through a halt to every distraction, so that you can listen to your tone, and be at ease with your movements, weight, stance, balance, relaxed shoulders, etc.

So, here some of the ideas that have worked for me so far:

• Start your practice by breathing deeply to settle the mind. Then, before you grab the instrument, look at it for a few seconds as you contemplate its beauty. 

• Then proceed to tune it as you enjoy listening closely to intonation. 

• Ask yourself what intention you will set forth in this practice session (some “intentions” that worked for me at first were: I will practice to have an overall feeling of friendliness toward myself, to keep an open mind no matter what, and to cultivate curiosity. More specific intentions could be: I will practice to feel my left hand free of tension, I will practice to produce a full ringing tone, I will practice with full awareness of my fingers points of contact with the bow, I will practice with full awareness of my body alignment, or full awareness of my vibrato use, etc.)

• Observe your emotions or feelings as you practice.

• Observe your mind activity as you practice. If it starts intruding or causing any mental struggle, or if it takes away from the moment, stop, you can come back later, with renewed fresh awareness. 

• Practice from a point of appreciating the moment at hand, each sound, each bow stroke, each vibration at a time. How did your body feel? Did the vibrating instrument tickle your jaw bone? Your chest? Your collar bone? Ringing tones are metaphors of Zen bells (all branches of Buddhism have singing bowls and the ringing of these bells is very long, surely Dr. Suzuki knew about them) 

• Finish your practice, regardless of length or how much you’ve accomplished, by breathing deeply a few times. Focus on the out breath part of the breathing, letting go of any judgement (positive or negative) that the mind may have produced during the session.

• Before you leave the room where you practiced have a journal where you can write down the things you found joyous in your practice that day.

As you practice in this way, remember that according to this philosophy everything is always changing (law of impermanence) so nothing ever stays the same. And just like the weather is always passing (things, feelings, people, thoughts, etc) and the sky is always there (your being), our bodies will ache, our minds will drift, or our perceptions will alternate, etc, but you are always there witnessing everything like the sky. And it's completely normal if one practice session is very peaceful and productive, when the next one turns out to be difficult and fragmented.

Also, according to Buddhism, suffering is inherent to life and it is in fact the first Noble Truth and Buddha called it “dukkha” (we will all experience it: the loss of a loved one, falling ill, getting hurt, experiencing hunger or thirst, getting old, etc). So we should accept it and not make it worse by inflicting self created pain. Furthermore, in order to not self create pain we must let go of attachments and expectations of desirable outcomes. Desiring something too much (greed) or being delusional about something (ignorance) or having aversion (hatred) will perpetuate suffering too. Those three are considered the “Poisons of Buddhism” and they represent the roots of all human sufferings.

So, practice letting go and not clinging onto anything or anyone, and remember the important thing is not to judge, just keep practicing your instrument with curiosity, devotion and openness to what is. Hopefully you will find this to be a more joyous way to spend time with your instrument, while being kind and friendly to yourself 😌

© 2021 Cecilia Calvelo

Teaching music during the Covid-19 Pandemic

This is something I wrote in May of 2020, when I was teaching in Valencia, Spain.

The coronavirus is teaching us to slow down and reflect. This is an opportunity to simplify things and practice patience. We have to give children time to process what's going on, and since we will not get to do as many group activities as we used to in person I'm proposing we include more of a listen/create/and respond type of content. I'm excited to work with a different set of skills that we usually don't have time for.
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Most of these I've done as an orchestra teacher, as a Suzuki teacher, or in the Orff music classroom. Please read and use the ones that work for your situation or ensemble. Most of them can be made as complex or as simple as needed for your particular situation. Online teaching is very different from what we were used to, but we will figure it out!! 

Cecilia

1. For the younger kids: Step outside the door, or balcony, or just open the window and listen to the sounds around you. When you go back inside ask an adult to write down for you the sounds you heard. Note which sounds were loud, which ones were soft, or random or repeated with some frequency, etc.
2. Expressive Movement (toddlers through 1st grade) Provide students with pieces of music you think are appropriate for movement and send them the link to that music with a short guided explanation (it could be like: "move around the room exploring the low/medium/upper space to represent the sounds you hear", or "sit down next to your parent and try moving your arms to this music", "dance with a scarf", etc) Here an example of my PK class to Yann Tiersen music from film “Amelie” 
3. Acts of Kindness: it's important these days we help around the house, fold laundry, call a grandparent or a neighbor, groom your dog, feed your pets, etc. Just get a piece of paper and start writing down the different ways in which you were a caring helper each day.
4. Breathing/Relaxing exercises: I thought it would be nice to have at least one guided meditation activity for kids so that we can help families stay grounded in the midst of all the uncertainty outside. Here is a sample of a meditation activity for Elementary School age kids. And Erik Satie's Gymnopedie could be used for a "slow breathing and finger tracing" exercise. To do this activity you use one hand's index finger to slowly trace your other hand's fingers. You breath in as the index finger goes up towards the tip of the fingers, and breathe out when the index is going down. It's a very peaceful exercise. 
5. Easy Cup Games for Elementary School kids Here a simple one 
6. Harder Cup Game for Middle School age kids Cup Game with “Oye Como Va” 
7. Body Percussion/Coordination Games Example of “7 Taps” here (this video is with my 2nd graders)
8. Sing on top of the coordination games (we’ve done “Twinkle Theme”, "Go Tell Aunt Rhody" and "May Song" on top of “7 Taps” and it works nicely. You can really sing any 4/4 song on top of it)
9. Challenge Hand Game: For younger kids you could do simple games such as “Bim Bum Bim Bum”, “Choco Choco La La”/"DoubleDouble This This", “Tic Tac Toe”, "Boom Snap Clap", etc. However, for older students you could do this one called “Mayumana” (please learn it slow first with THIS VIDEO I made)
10. Ask your students to teach their parents/siblings/friends a call and response song. These are 2 of my favorites: “John, the Rabbit” and “Che Che Kule” 
11. Pass the stone/bean bag day: Tell the children to teach their family how to play this game (we've done it in class) You can pass an object to any song, just find something at home to pass (bean bags, stones, corks, a stuffed animal, etc), determine if it is going to go clockwise or counterclockwise, and it's best to choose a song that has a pretty clear beat. Here one of my 1st grader classes passing the stone to OBWISANA
12. Invent your own Body Percussion Routines 4 or 8 beats at a time (remember you have to do it slow at first, you can use different kinds of claps, taps on knees, shoulders, head, chest, heart, thighs, belly, etc, finger snaps, stepping feet or stomping one foot, clicking sounds with your mouth, symmetrical patterns first, then crossing ones, etc) 
13. PASS THE BET AROUND THE ROOM game: I've taught this game to Suzuki group classes and school aged kids and they all love it. It teaches not only steady beat and concentration, but you can also have one of the students in the middle and be the conductor to set a different tempo each round. Kids could now teach it to their siblings and parents at home. 
14. Music FORM for Middle School students: This is a recording of Brahms Hungarian Dance N1 in G Minor. Can you figure out what the FORM of this piece is? You can use both the music and the artist's hand movements for clues. Here is the video: Wash your Hands to Brahms music!
15. Listening Assignments: Teacher makes the selection of a piece that fits his/her students’ ensemble playing level (this works for any ensemble: choir, band, orchestra, private studio, etc) and you can make this as hard or simple as needed. Upload the piece you selected and ask students to identify different things you think they should know by now. For Orchestra or Band students in MS or HS you could expect them to identify a period in music history, instrumentation, articulations, composer, minor or major mode, etc. For ES kids you could ask more specific questions to guide the listening, or simply ask them to describe what they hear using 3 or 4 concepts they’ve learned (maybe tempo, dynamics, form, etc) Here is an example of a piece I would share with my Intermediate Orchestra students (or Suzuki violin students from Book 4/5 and up) 
16. Play/Sing the missing segment! You record yourself playing or singing a song your students know and you leave a measure or 2 blank for the child to play or sing the missing section! Here is an example of "May Song" for Beginning Violin players but you would do it for whatever instrument you teach. 
17. Compose a piece (teacher must give parameters appropriate to each child’s or class level). See example HERE of “Coronavirus Boo Boo Boo” we made this week with one of my 1st grade classes. We had decided on the ostinato rhythm we were going to use (titi-ta) and I had told them they could only play on the bottom 5 bars of the xylophone (Do to Sol, or C to G) 
18. Music Notation: Give the children a simple pdf sheet of music and ask them to circle whatever symbols they know by now that are appropriate for their ensemble and playing level. For my Elementary school aged kids I would have them circle all rests, or all half notes, or all eighth notes, breathing marks, etc. For my Middle School kids I would have them circle dotted rhythms, or flats, or ledger lines, accidentals, dynamics, etc. For high schoolers shifts, or tempo changes, new key signatures, etc. 
19. Music Crossword Puzzles: Here a sample of a "Composers" one 
20. Origami is great for finger precision and dexterity which musicians need a lot of. Here a couple of videos, but you can find your own Heart Tutorial and Butterfly Tutorial here 
21. Finger Knitting: they could make a necklace to hold their recorder! Tutorial here 
22. Cleaning our instrument day (or polish your cello, wipe your bow, clean out violin case, etc) 
23. Listen to some of your old performances or solo recitals and self evaluate, make a list of the things that now you do not have to work so hard on!
24. Draw, paint, or write a poem inspired by one of these pieces. If none of these inspire you find one that does and imagine away!! You could use Debussy Clair de la Lune or Bedrich Smetana The Moldau or Carl Orff Carmina Burana or Benny Goodman Big Band or Piazzolla Libertango 
25. This is a recording of “Peter and the Wolf” by Sergei Prokofiev. First listen to it and then have a class discussion about timbre, instrumentation, orchestra families, etc. 
26. This is a recording of an orchestra piece called “The Typewriter”. After you finished listening to it go get paper and pencil, and go back to the beginning to try to transcribe a couple of the rhythms the typewriter is playing on his typewriting keys! Before you start you'll need to determine what time signature the piece is in (and one hint, there are plenty of sixteenth notes!)
27. Attentive listening: Instead of doing background listening of your review pieces or the piece you are learning, sit down with the music sheet and follow along making any marks you may need in the music (articulation, dynamics, breathing, etc). What did you notice this time that you hadn’t before?
28. Share your Favorite Piece Day: Tell students to be prepared to share with the class a favorite piece of theirs (related to their ensemble or instrument) and prepare a short speech to explain what the piece is and why they chose it.
29. Fill in the blank activities (simple pitch for beginners, or for advanced violinists it could be Alto clef exercises, for Viola players in could be Treble Clef exercises, or for Cellists treble clef, missing beats in a rhythmic exercise, figuring how many sharps or flats in a given key, etc) Example here 
30. For beginning orchestra students: “Spot the open strings!” Give the students a piece of music and have them identify/circle any notes you want them to know by heart. This is like “sight words” in reading, but for music (students could also search for Dos, or Mis, B flats, whatever, with solfege or letter names regardless of instrument they play) 
31. Comparing different versions of the same piece (for example Bach Double in D Minor played by Yehudi Menuhin and Oistrakh versus Hilary Hahn and Margaret Batjer)
32. For MS and HS music students: Compare different soloists of your instrument (for singers it could be Anne Sofie von Otter and Renee Fleming, or for violinists Midori and Isacc Stern, for trumpet players Winton Marsalis and Louis Armstrong, etc)
33. Reviewing Challenge (how many songs/pieces/rhymes/coordination exercises, etc can you review until schools open up again!) 
34. Suzuki group class: have your older students make videos for the younger members of your studio with “Best practice Tips” (this works also with choirs, bands and orchestras to have kids share with one another their best practice tips) Here are some of my violin students videos.  
35. 4th grade and up: Write a little essay on the composer of one of your favorite pieces
36. Gathering pictures of good and bad posture for your instrument!! Write below the picture why it is a good or bad example of posture! (unfortunately there are plenty of bad pictures of bowed instrument posture on the internet so finding the good ones will be a bit harder) 
37. Give students a song/piece, or a segment of a song, to figure out (it must be a piece they are pretty familiar with. For ES kids it could be something such as “Happy Birthday” or “Row Row Row your Boat”, for older students you may find a pop song they are all into, etc.) Give the students some hints (starting note, or you will have to use this many sharps/flats, you do not have to shift, or you so have to shift, etc). 
38. For the older students in MS or HS: Compose a short piece/song for your instrument (teacher must give specific parameters: what key? what kind of time signature? what range? with accompaniment or not?, etc)
39. For High School kids (this could be in a unit of music theory or even music history): Invent your own musical symbols to write down the piece you composed. 21st century composers not always use the old convention of quarter notes and other note values or even pitch (this assignment would be best to give if you have already talked about this in class) Here an example of graphic notation 
40. Can you follow my conducting? Teacher sends a silent recorded segment of a conducting pattern (either 4/4 or 3/4) that may work for a few pieces the child knows, and the child tries to play a piece that fits that time signature following your conducting patterns!
41. Music Theory for Middle School or High School students: What Interval is this? Example here 
42. CANON: Explain to your students what a canon is and then play an example for them to hear it (or you may use a piece you already learned all together in class, with my 3rd graders we used "Kookaburra"). Ask the students to count how many beats until the next part joins in, or think of ways you could end it, or if the students are older ask them to find an example of a canon piece for their particular instrument/ensemble. Here is a famous one (Pachelbel Canon) that string players in MS or HS should know. 
43. CALL AND RESPONSE: Can you think of an example of this technique? Here is one Jazzy piece of this kind, and here a rhythmical call and response example as well. 
44. DESCANT (maybe this could be used for a music history/appreciation unit for older choral students): after watching the video HERE, use your own words to explain what the descant technique was.
45. Ask the students to compose an “Ostinato Pattern” to accompany a song or piece you already know well (it could be a rhythmical or a melodic ostinato pattern) Watch this video first to have an idea of the kinds of ostinati there are! Also, you may ask them to listen to an ostinato accompaniment you provide them with and ask them to write it down for you. Here a piece we did this year with 2 different rhythmic ostinati. They had to write it down for me.
46. Musicians in the 21st century convey different messages than we did 200 years ago. What do you think are some of the messages these performers are conveying?  
47. Listen to a Jazz piece, or a Tango, or a Salsa, Bossa Nova, Mariachi, etc or any style of music you are not used to playing, and notice differences or unique characteristics. Here an example of music from India 
48. For Middle School and High School students: Watch these 2 body percussion routines. One is based on a Dmitri Shostakovich piece and the other one on a piece by Edvard Grieg. Choose one. What is the time signature of your chosen work? Do the body percussion patterns help you to identify the form of the piece? By stopping, rewatching sections and even changing the speed of the video, can you pick up any of the body percussion patterns? 
49. For High School students: What are the similarities between (chose one of the following options): a String Quartet and a Barbershop Quartet? A Band and an Orchestra? A voice vibrato versus a string instrument vibrato? A Mozart Symphony and a Brahms Symphony? 
50. For High School music students of any ensemble or instrument/voice here is a great video on Music History by Leonard Bernstein "The greatest 5 minutes in music education"
51. Solo time!!! Video tape yourself playing or singing a polished piece and send it to me for feedback with your self assessment. Once we agree that it is your best performance of that piece we will share it with the rest of the class for group feedback. This activity could easily become a project leading to a Virtual Solo Recital.
52. For HS music theory assignments: Send students ear training exercises on intervals/chord progressions/key signatures/scale recognition, etc by setting up an account with smartmusic.com or tonesavvy.com Both those companies have free teacher subscriptions until schools go back to normal.

© 2021 Cecilia Calvelo